Almost half a million children gamble every week, commission warns

Some 450,000 children aged between 11 and 15 are gambling on a weekly basis, new research from the Gambling Commission, a Government regulatory body, has warned.

The report revealed that 9,000 of those children are likely to be ‘problem gamblers’, despite 60 per cent of those surveyed agreeing that gambling is dangerous.

Of the 2,411 children sampled from 103 state secondary schools in England and Wales, gambling was more prevalent in boys than girls.

According to the research, boys gambled double the amount girls did in the week prior to the study, with the report showing that, across Europe, boys were generally more likely to gamble than girls.

The rate of gambling among children has remained relatively static, according to the Commission, whereas childhood smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs has seen a decline, the data revealed.

Facebook is the second most common way children access gambling sites

Figures showed gambling among 11 to 15-year-olds was considerably higher than the comparable figures for smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs, with fruit machines the most popular form of gambling.

Scratch cards and National Lottery tickets were typically purchased by a parent or guardian for the child, with 8 per cent of respondents having gambled in commercial premises in the last week.

However, children are also gambling in commercial areas such as betting shops, bingo halls and arcades, and 3 per cent spent their own money to gamble online.

The survey showed that children have used their parent’s accounts to gamble, 6 per cent doing so with or without parental permission.

Children’s top three reasons for gambling for the first time were ‘to make money’, they ‘thought it would be fun and entertaining’, and they ‘thought it would be exciting.’

Of those surveyed, 75 per cent said they saw gambling adverts on TV, 63 per cent said they had seen adverts on social media and 57 per cent saw the promotion of gambling on other websites.

We would encourage parents to speak to their children about the risks associated with gambling, so that if they choose to gamble in adulthood, they will do so in a safe and responsible wayTim Miller, Gambling Commission executive director

In addition, almost one in 10 children followed gambling companies on social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The report showed 73 per cent of children gamble online through apps, up from 64 per cent last year.

Social networking sites was the second most common method of play with 25 per cent of children gambling through Facebook.

“However our research shows that children are twice as likely to gamble than do any of those things.

He continued: “We want to reassure parents that our rules require gambling businesses to prevent and tackle underage gambling and we take firm action where young people are not properly protected.

“We recognise that there are some gambling activities in which young people are legally permitted to partake - such as using a crane machine to win a toy, or betting between friends. But we would encourage parents to speak to their children about the risks associated with gambling, so that if they choose to gamble in adulthood, they will do so in a safe and responsible way.”

Charities are now aiming to prevent gambling addiction among children.

Catherine Sweet, of GamCare, for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling, said: “The foundation of our new strategy to work with young people is our youth outreach programme, including the creation of regional ‘youth hubs’ to provide free of charge workshops directly to young people, as well as training for professionals working with young people in the local area.

“These hubs will be located in Bristol, Birmingham and the North West (covering Manchester and Liverpool) as well as London.

She added: “We will provide materials and screening tools to assist local youth services and teachers in identifying young people at risk. Each youth hub will be able to provide referrals to our specialist treatment for young people who are experiencing or vulnerable to gambling-related harm.”